Numbering-head.



' A. H. SMITH.

NUMBERING HEAD.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG.2Z. 191s.

1,227,969. Patented: May 29, 1917.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMOS H. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN BANK NOTE COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

NUMBERING-HEAD.

Application filed August 22, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AMos H. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Bronx, city of New York, county of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improve ments in Numbering-Heads, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to numbering heads and more particularly to a type thereof wherein each of the digit wheels is actuated directly from the main actuating means, each wheel of a higher denomination being so controlled as to be held against rotation by the wheel of next lower denomination, except during the transfer operation, the wheels of lower denomination being adapted to release the wheel of next higher denomination when in the operation of the head it is necessary to turn said wheel of higher denomination.

A numbering head made in accordance with my invention possesses all of the characteristics of the type above referred to, but

is so constructed and arranged as to be adaptable to a type high numbering head. In a numbering head made in accordance with my present invention, each of the digit wheels excepting the units wheel is posi tively locked against rotation in either direction excepting when the wheel of next lower denomination has the digit 9 in the printing position at which time the locking mechanism normally preventing the advance of the Wheel of next higher denomination, is actuated to release said wheel. To secure the desired compactness of structure, the holding pawl and the locking pawl both act upon the same ratchet or spur wheel and the releasing mechanism is caused to operate directly upon .thehead of the holding pawlto efiect'its disengagement from said ratchet or spur wheel. By this construction simplicity in the assembling of the mechanism 15 possible. Furthermore, each of the digit wheels excepting the units wheel may be an exact replica of every other wheel, the units wheel ordinarily requiring a heavier ratchet by reason of the excessive wear thereupon.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 29, 1917.

Serial No. 116,234.

All of the locking pawls are capable of being simultaneously disengaged from their respective ratchet or spur wheels so as to permit quick setting and re-setting of any of the several wheels.

The invention consists primarily in a numbering head embodying therein a sequence of digit wheels, a ratchet or spur wheel carried upon one side of each of said digit wheels and presented toward the wheel of next lower denomination, a cam disk upon the opposite face of each of said wheels a locking pawl of a width to be operatively engaged by the ratchet or spur wheel of each digit wheel, and the riser of the cam disk of the Wheel of next lower denomination, a holding pawl operatively engaging each of said ratchet or spur wheels upon the side thereof opposite to the point of engagement of said locking pawl, a main actuating mechanism and operative connections between said main actuating mechanism and said digit wheels respectively; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of a numbering head embodying my invention, showing the locking pawls;

Fig. 2 is an end view thereof showing the releasing lever;

F ig. 3 is a section on the line 33 .of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a' section on the-line 44 of Fig. 1.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, a indicates the main frame of the head, having extending therethrough a fixed bearing 6 upon which a plurality of digit printing wheels are rotatably mounted.

The number of digit wheels employed may vary as desired. Said digit wheels may all be provided with numerals, or some of them may be provided with numerals and others with key letters or characters. The transfer operation in the type of numbering head to which this invention relates, is ordinarily automatic as to all. of the wheels exceptin wheels of denominations of a hundred thousand or more, these Wheels ordinarily, being set by hand. This is a common expedient, but is not essential to the invention as the lockin and holding mechanisms hereinafter re erred to, is applied to the manually operative wheels as well those which are automatically actuated during the transfer operation.

Loosely mounted upon the shaft 6,, are sequence of digit wheels c00cc- 0 Each of said Wheels excepting the units wheel 0 is, or may be, an exact duplicate of the others. Each of the wheels 0-0-p c 0c has upon one face thereof, (that face presented in the direction of the wheel of lowest denomination) a ratchet or spur wheel d-dd the teeth or spurs upon each wheel being ten in number and so positioned with relation to the digits upon each Wheel, as to insure the positioning of said digits in the printing position upon each actuation of the wheel.

Mounted upon the shaft 6 is the usual rocking frame f carrying a shaft f upon which is pivotally mounted a bracket f carrying a plurality of ratchet teeth f of graduated heights adapted to coiiperate with ther espective wheels dd'd d -dd so that during the transfer operation each of said wheels is adapted to be turned through power applied directly thereto from the main actuating mechanism. The pawls are normally thrust toward the several ratchet wheels by the spring f". The main actuating mechanism and the pawls by which the same is operatively connected with the several digit wheels is old and well known in this art and no claim of invention is made thereto. The swinging frame f is actuated by means of the usual plunger mech m Acting upon each of the ratchet wheels ddd d d d is a holding. or registering pawl h, the function of which is to prevent a loss of alinement through overriinning of the digit wheels and to secure a slight return movement thereof in the event that there is such an overrunning. Each of said pawls is mounted upon the shaft h and each has acting thereon its n ep nden spr ng The units digit wheel 0 differs from the digit wheels of higher denomination merely in that the ratchet or spur wheel 03 is heavier than the ratchet or spur wheels upon the other digit wheels to compensate for the additional wear upon this wheel.

R ab y mou in h r e a i a ha e a d f w h p j ct beyon the fr m a and is Pr ided wi h an pera lever handle 3'. Idly mounted upon the shaft 2' are a plurality of locking pawls lclc7u /0--/c ada ted to cooperate respectively with the ratchet or sp'ur wheels Zdd d cZ-(l. Each of said pawls is thrust toward its ratchet or spur wheel by means of the individual springs mm 117Fm"'-m and each of said paWls is adapted to be actuated by means of the shaft 2' while havin movement independently of said shaft su cient to clear said ratchet or spur wheel. tween each locking pawl and the shaft i is shown as being a spur n carried by said pawls respectively and moving in a way ,i' in the shaft 1', It is appa out that this arrangement may be reverse so long as each wheels is in the printing position, said riser being of a height to move its cooperating The means of connection hepawl out of the operative relation to its ratchet or spur wheel and thus permit the free rotation of any particular diglt wheel.

Hence, the assembled numbering head will have the cam disk of the Wheel .of lower denomination in close juxtaposition to the ratchet or spur wheel upon the digit wheel of next higher denomination so that by the use of broad locking pawls 7cklp k 712 said pawls respectively will be in conba op rativ re shoe to oth a r t e wheel and a releasing cam. The functions of the wheels ddc l d gl .d are four in number. The wheels are turned one tenth of a revolution with each actuation of th ma n a tua g me h ni m th ough e m d m t e e t e t ansf p rations a e accomplishedby m s o he QRc ative co nectipns ween he main actuating-media njsin and the severa ig t W els, t. roug a recess or pocket such as e in each of sand e t e retard ho ng e r gis er n paw ct upon d W e ls tq PER a re urn m em n thereof w th the ac uation f h m ua n me ani m a d the locking pa l a ts di l up n lt fi gear so he e ep when said io kmg mechaaim i e e se to t a Whe l o t tran er p ati n, he e l is i mly hel rea est inc ement n i er m ti i by the lakes es ewsi n th hol i g awl aevsepas th Whe l- By this arrangement, above described, both the holding and the locking mechanisms for the machine may be brought well within the printing surface of the digits upon the digit Wheels, thus permitting the utilization of small wheels and of pawls which will be well within the printing frame in a manner to permit the construction of what is known as a type high wheel. Furthermore, the

wheels may be brought sufficiently close together to secure the proper spacin of the numbers with small numbering hea s while ner to insure the automatic lifting of said holding pawls as the digit wheel cooperating therewith is turned.

The operation of the herein described numbering head is substantially as follows Assuming that the numbering head is set to begin a run with the number 1, the locking members or pawls klck -7c and in will. respectively be in engagement with the ratchet or spur wheels dd d d and d so that each of the wheels c''c 0"c and 0 will be positively held against rotation, upon the actuation of the unit's wheel a through the depression of the plunger g and the resultant actuation of the swinging frame f and the pawl f engaging the units wheel. It is to be observed that the actuation of the wheels cc -c -c c is entirely independent of the units wheel except, in so far as the units wheel may control the positioning of the pawls f. In this type of head, the plunger 9 is depressed, and the numberin head is set for the next actuation of the digit wheel, while an imprint is being madewith the numbering head.

When, after repeated actuations of the machine, the digit 9 of the units wheel is being brought to the printing position, the riser upon the cam disk 0 will engage the head of the rocking pawl 70 and raise it out of engagement with the ratchet or spur wheel (Z of the tens wheel and hold it in this po sition until the next actuation of the plunger g. The complete disengagement of the said locking pawl will occur substantially simultaneously with the completion of the movement of the units wheel, so that movement of the tens wheels during this interval is prevented.

Upon the succeeding actuation of the plunger 9 the pawls f codperatin with the ratchet wheels d and al will simu taneously turn each of the digit wheels 0 and 0' and the riser of the cam disk 0 passes out of the operative relation to the locking member or pawl 70, the spring m of which willimmediately force this pawl into engagement with the succeeding tooth or spur upon the ratchet or spur wheel 03; in which relation it will remain until the digit 9 of the units wheel is again brought to the printing position whereupon the operations above described will be repeated.

As the succeeding digit wheels c c 0 -0 are brought into play with the arithmetical progression in the numbering operation, the various cooperating locking pawls /t"-70 3 and k ratchet or spur wheels d d dd and cam disks 0'-0 -0 -0 will be actuated in the same manner above referred to, each wheel of higher denomination being under the immediate control of the wheel of next lower denomination, as to the locking mechanism therefor while being turned directly by the main actuating mechanism.

The cam disk 0 has no function in the machine as long as this disk is carried by the digit Wheel of highest denomination. This disk is used merely as a manufacturing expedient so that all of the digit wheels above the units wheel will be of the same construction, thus simplifying the assembling of the head.

As each digit wheel is turned, the engagement of the teeth or spurs of the ratchet or spur wheel thereon with the cooperating pawl it will, by reason of the bevel surface upon said pawl, permit the rotation of said digit wheel.

The difficulty with wherein the transfer is accomplished through the medium of the main actuating mechanism, as distinguished from a mechanism connecting all of the digit wheels of the series is that by reason of the fouling of the wheels there is atendency of the rotation of a wheel of lower denomination transmitting movement to the wheels of next higher denomination to at least a sufficient extent to result in a loss in alinement of the printing characters. By using the mechanism herein described this condition is made impossible since if any digit wheel of lower denomination than a digit wheel wherein the locking mechanism is released, has any digit other than the 9 in the printing position, the main actuating mechanism or the pawl f 'operatively connecting said mechanism with the several digit wheels, will be held out of operative relation to said released digit wheel and at least one of the wheels of lower denomination numbering heads will be positive y ocked by its10ck 1g m an sm so as to prevent the, tra m ion o power to the wheel so released.

The spur of each of he Pfi-W1 :3 -1 kk and 7 wil as aid pawl 1 ca sed by i s cam disk ofo-o- .o--, to turn upo the s aft 2', mo e n th way a" m- Bald shaft. When it s des red to set r reset th numbering head, however, all of t pawls kk-" k k m ybe simultaneouslv d s gage from t en re p v at het arm w eels d'd -d* d by u n ng the shaft i by means of he handle j, thus permitting any of the d git wheels to be turned to any desired extent without the ne s ty fo brin m any other di t Wh el into a pos tion with the $1181.41 9 n the Pr nting P si i n; ch would be e es ary f th t mat r ea g means were relied upon when sett ng or resettin the he It is not my n nt o n th p esent anp cat on o claim broad y n mbering head P o ided w th a ock ng mechanism by wh c e ch o the dig t wheels, e cert ns the u it he s pos t vely looke ex ep during the transfer operation, such type of ma hi s ha ng n e etot rs P ten by me.- The P e en nven ion relat s mer y to a spe fi m han sm for se in thi esult,

It i not y intention, ho v to hun t e nv t n to t Preci t ls f construct n s own, it eing appa ent that sa h may be varied without departing from the sp i n c p of the inventi n Having desc ibed he i v ntion hat .I la m s new nd desire tb h e Pro ec ed y t r Paten is= A n mbe h a mbo y g he e n a sequence of digit wheels, a. ratchet or spur wheel carried upon one side-of each of said digit wheels and presented toward the Wh l o n xt lower enomin io a cam d k po the Oppo i e ace f ach of sai heels, a lo k g pawl of a width to e Pc a i Y ngaged y the rat het or spur wheel of ach digi h el an th r ser on the cam disk of the wheel of next lower denomination, a, hold ng paw operativcly ensee ng ch o aid ratch o spur wheels p n e side t e of opposite to the point f ngag ment o said ocking pawl, a main actuating mechanism and operative connections b t ee aid main actuating mechanism and said digit wheels respectively.

2. A, numbering head embodying therein a s quence of digit W els, a ratchet or spur wheel carried upon one side of each of said digit wheels and presented toward the wheel of next lower denomination, a cam disk upon the opposite face of each of said wheels, a locking awl of a width to be ne atively e gaged by the ratchet or spur Wheel of each digit wheel and the riser on the cam disk of the wheel of next lower denomination, a holding pawl operatively engaging each of said ratchet or spur wheels upon the side thereof opposite to the point of en agement of said locking pawl, means where y all of said locking pawls may be simultaneously disengaged rom their coopcrating ratchet or spur wheels to permit the setting of said digit wheels, a main actuating mechanism and operative connecfirms between said main actuating mecha- Iiism and said digit wheels respectively.

3. A numbering head embodying therein a sequence of digit wheels, a ratchet or Spur Wheel carried upon one side of each of said digit wheels, and presented toward the wheel of next lower denomination, a cam disk upon the opposite face of each of said wheels, a rock shaft, a plurality of locking pawls of a width to be operatively engaged by the ratchet or spur wheel of said digit Wheels and the riser on the cam disks of the wheels of next lower denomination respectively, said pawls being loosely mounted upon said shaft, cooperating means carried by said shaft and said pawls respectively whereby said pawls are adapted tohave movement independently of said shaft or to bemoved by said shaft, means whereby said shaft may be actuated, a holding pawl operatively engaging each of said ratchet or spur wheels upon the side thereof opposite to the point of engagement of said locking pawl, a. main actuating mechanism and operative connections between said main a tuating mechanismand said digit wheels respectively.

4. A numberin head embodying therein a sequence-of digit wheels, a double ratchet or spur wheel carried by each of said digit wheels, a plurality of pawls actin upon each of said ratchet wheels where y the digit wheel carrying said ratchet wheel is normally locked against movement in either direction, means carried by the digit Wheel of lower denomination acting upon one of the pawls of the digit wheel of higher denomination whereby 'said last named digit wheel will be permitted at predetermined intervals to turn in one direction only, a. main actuating mechanism and o erative connections between said main actuating mechanism and said digit wheels respectively.

5. A numbering head embodying therein a sequence of digit wheels, a ratchet wheel carried by each of said digit wheels having a lurality of angular spurs thereon, a plura ity of 'pawls acting upon each. of said ratchet wheels whereby the digit wheel carrying said ratchet wheel is normally locked against movement in either direction, means carried by the digit wheel of lower denomination acting upon one of the pawls of the In witness whereof, I hereunto aifix my digit wheel of higher denomination whereby signature in the presence of two subscribing 10 sa-(iid last niamed digit wheel 1will be permitwitnesses, this 1st day of August, 1916.

te at re etermined interva s to turn in one directign only, a main actuating mechanism AMOS SMITH and operative connections between said main Witnesses:

actuating mechanism and said digit wheels F. T. WENTWORTH,

respectively. JUDITH PARDEE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for jive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

